Throwing & decorating English slipware pots: Taena Pottery, Gloucestershire

I had the pleasure of filming two exceptional people and skilled potters demonstrating their craft! The historic Taena Pottery - surrounded by mulberry trees and bee-filled lavender - is having its first flirtation with the internet!
Vici and Sean Casserley are the second generation of potters to run the beautiful Taena Pottery. It was started in 1948 by a group of conscientious objectors and survived their dispersal in the 1960s.
Specialising in traditional English slipware, Vici and Sean make and sell their pots from a studio and shop nestled on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment. You can buy read-made or bespoke pieces.
Contact details:
Whitley Court,
Upton-St-Leonards,
Gloucester,
Gloucestershire,
GL4 8EB
Tel: [phone]
Slipware is a traditional method of decorating clay pots, practiced globally in a variety of styles. English medieval pottery is often decorated with slip and sgraffito (the two techniques demonstrated here) and can be seen on the Tring Tiles at the British Museum: www.britishmuse...
I am an Art Historian at Cambridge University, with a deep admiration for practitioners of heritage crafts. I grew up near Sean and Vici and hope this film serves as a celebration of lives devoted to creating useful & beautiful things, or, as Sean puts it, 'making nice pots for nice people.'

[@ohioskane363]

Really beautiful little video. So calm, focused, organic, and wholesome. Thank you.

[@joerglemke7963]

Thank you very much! It’s very beautiful what you make! Especially the well done decorations.

[@iniehawk4472]

I'm so glad that you convinced him to do this. Such a lovely and talented couple that are much loved by our family across the drive. My wife had the honour of having a personal lesson the other day and watching Sean performing and talking about his craft is an absolute joy.

[@Amy-nz8qg]

This is wonderful. Lucky you and thank you!

[@derekgreenacre9530]

In a world filled with dogma hatred and war where mankind finds new ways to kill each other or destroy the planet this video is a little oasis of reassurance. The gentle narration, the soft music and exquisite craftsmanship is a reminder that humanity is capable of great things. When a pot is committed to the kiln it is committed to history, ceramics are very difficult thing to destroy. So ,when all the petty squabbles of this fragile planet are long forgotten, some future person will find these exquisite artefacts and marvel at their beauty and say " against all the odds mankind made this."

[@LiloUkulele]

Brings back a lot of memories, teaching ceramics at our local Uni. Precious video, documenting a piece of living history...thanks so much❣

[@wendygregory5279]

I wish it was a longer video. In that short time I picked up 3 new tips to try on my wheel. Thank you, WG in NZ

[@robertfountain4856]

I enjoyed watching your video ... Thank you!

[@DempseydeLange]

I really enjoyed watching you both work and love your pottery.

[@elenafernandez3247]

Nice video, thank you for sharing! Greetings from Melbourne, Australia. 👋

[@rezaetemad591]

awesome video, thanks foe sharing.

[@pjgreen1786]

Very wobbly pot

[@jimewins1705]

I'd love to meet them, but there isn't enough time

[@mandomonica]

Very nice video, thank you. What is the very nice music playing at the end?

[@Amy-nz8qg]

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! The song is called ‘Draw Me’ by Emmaus and the recording is of my mum and me singing it in the narthex of a church in Hannover. We made it impromptu - she’ll be delighted to know you commented!

[@mandomonica]

Wow! They are both nice, though honestly, I like yours better than the original!

[@dominicboylan7066]

Pottery barn and the other one